Only You
by InfectedKura
Summary: (AU were everything is the same during tv show (Zexal II Season 1 ) but everyone is around 4-5 years older and in high school) Rei is Vectors clone and his only reason to exist is to get close to Yuma so Vector can destroy him. To ease Vectors anger about his slow progress Rei lies to him and falls into a spiral of pain, unrequited love and the desire of someone he can never have.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Rated M for the last chapter. First FF I wrote in english :

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His key clicked into the lock of the door and, as always, swung open with a terrible loud screeching sound. He stepped in the small apartment and tried to close the door as silently as possible. It was impossible to do so and he knew, yet he tried it every single time.

To his surprise silence welcomed him.

Usually, the TV would be annoyingly loud or music filled the apartment.

If you even could call it an apartment. It was actually just one room, with two small couches to sleep, a table with a few chairs, a TV, an empty shelf unit and other random objects. Added to that was a bathroom with just the necessities and a kitchen that was more than filthy.

The silence could only mean one thing...HE wasn't here. Vector wasn't here.

It was rare but it still happened now and then that Rei would come home to this. He quietly thanked whichever God blessed him today and made his way to the table.

At least he could get some homework done. With Vector breathing down his neck or just with his presence in general, Rei couldn't get anything done. Especially not homework or any other things that required thinking and concentration. He probably wasn't the only one. Vector was known for being just the most inconvenient, annoying person.

With that strange silence surrounding him, Rei could even hear his stomach growling. Right. He hadn't eaten yet.

Normally he ate at school with Yuma and the others at the cafeteria or went after school with them to eat somewhere else. But today was Friday. So no eating at school and everyone went home on their own, leaving Rei only the option to go home himself and eat something there.

The tiny kitchen next to the main room was a mess as always.

Dirty dishes. Old food. Empty cans. Not like Vector would tidy up. It was always Rei.

He tried to organize the mess a little bit and put everything in safer piles, as the ones now were close to just fall apart and destroy the few dishes they had. Rei never got to know how Vector even got this place. Probably illegally with a bit of mind-control magic. Or he just killed the former tenant. Not something that would surprise Rei in the slightest. Thinking about it, he actually didn't even want to know, if he was honest with himself.

After cleaning a few dishes so he could eat out of them and throw away anything that was empty or had mold in it in the overflowing garbage bin, he opened the fridge in hope to find something edible. Or just anything that wouldn't give him food poisoning or made him throw up afterwards.

More old food.

Why the hell were there empty cans of beer in the fridge?

Something that had so much mold on it that Rei wouldn't be surprised if it started to come alive and jump at him.

Was that a fucking dead bug?

Oh God there was another one.

He really had to contain himself not to throw up on the spot.

Somewhere in between all the garbage, he found a small container of pasta. As he opened it, he didn't find mold and decided that the smell wasn't that bad, and took it out before pouring the remains on a clean plate. Looking at this sad meal for a while without taking a single bite, he kind of didn't want to eat at all despite his hunger. Maybe he could sneak out later and just buy something fresh. If he could find money. Or maybe Vector would come back and be in an unusually good mood and give him some probably stolen money to get new groceries for him. Vector didn't have to eat since he was a barian but still enjoyed human food and drinks now and then. Rei, however, being just a human clone needed to drink and eat like a normal human being.

He stabbed the pasta with his fork and took a few bites of the cold meal before deciding to just throw it away and ignore his hunger for as long as he could.

Maybe his homework would make his mind wander to other thoughts.

Suddenly he stopped in his movement.

Did he hear something?

He listened for a few seconds but there was only silence in the room... and the muffled sound of the neighbors fighting as usual.

Rei shrugged his shoulders and made his way back to the table in the main room. He fished his folders out of his bag and put everything he would need on the wooden surface. But before he could even reach for the chair his head was suddenly slammed with so much force on the table that his breath cutout for a second.

He was too careless.

„...My, my, my, "he could hear Vectors smug voice behind him.

His one hand was tangled in Rei's orange hair and still pressed his face on the table. His other hand loosely around Rei's throat ready to choke him whenever he wanted.

„.Did you think I wasn't here? Did you think you were SAFE? "

Vectors voice was suddenly very close to his ear.

Rei could even feel his breath and the quiet chuckle in response of his own shocked reaction.

„Mhmmm...how was school today? "

Every other time from every other person this would be a nice questions but this was Vector and Rei knew what kind of answer he wanted to hear.

His tongue felt numb and his whole mouth went dry even though he didn't say anything yet.

„I asked...HOW WAS SCHOOL TODAY? ". Vector wasn't screaming but his words made Rei shake with fear.

He really shouldn't provoke Vector anymore but talking was suddenly a 100 times harder than usual.

„...it...was...good? ", he stuttered his words with a shaky voice and he could feel Vectors hand around his throat getting tighter.

„You know what I meant", hissed Vector.

The barian wasn't known for his patience and Rei had been more than one time his helpless victim when he lost control of his anger.

But the problem with the situation he was in right now was that Rei hadn't made any progress he could tell of.

Nothing had changed in his relationship with Yuma.

And that was his only mission.

Go to school.

Befriend Yuma.

Get Yuma to fall in love with him.

Get kidnapped.

Get killed.

Make Vector's revenge complete.

Everything so Vector could break the poor boy and the bond he shared with his friend from the astral world.

Right now Rei had barely completed step one.

And Vector was already impatient even though it had only been 4 weeks since Rei made first contact with Yuma.

The grip around Rei's throat was getting tighter.

He needed and answer.

A good answer.

An answer that would satisfy Vector at least a little bit.

„You know Rei...", Vector began to say in a waaaaay to sweet sounding voice.

„... I really REALLY hate to say this to you, but...". All of a sudden Vector let go of Rei's throat only to pull the boy up by his hair so that now Rei was standing in front of him. Rei could feel Vectors body pressed against him but he was too scared to move. In fear of what could come next he closed his eyes shut.

Vector was so close.

Too close.

Rei felt the barians hot breath against his ear.

„YOU. ARE. REPLACABLE. ", Vector started and Rei knew what would follow.

„If it wouldn't cost so much energy to create and independent thinking and acting clone... And if it wouldn't despise myself so much to interact with those humans... YOU. WOULD. NOT. EXIST. ANYMORE. "

Rei's whole body tensed up. If he wasn't panicking before, he was now.

„But that doesn't mean I can't hurt y..."

„Yumaaskedmetostayovertheweekendwithhim", it suddenly blurted out of Rei's mouth.

The room went silent again.

What did he just say?

And why the hell did he just say that?

Rei could feel his blood pressure rising to ungodly levels.

That.

That was a straight up lie.

„Huh..."

Vector seemed just as surprised as Rei.

„Did he..."

All of a sudden Vector pushed Rei away from him but still kept his hand around his throat.

„You better not fuck this up. ", Vector stated.

„Or else! ", he finished the conversation with a light squeeze of Rei's throat.

Rei didn't dare to move.

He was still shocked by his own lie. And everything that would come with that lie slowly settled in.

Yuma did NOT know he would come over.

WOULD HE LET HIM STAY OVER NIGHT?

WHAT IF NOT?

VECTOR WOULD KILL HIM!

Well...no...Rei knew Vector wouldn't kill him because he was still important to the plan.

But he would not hesitate to hurt him.

And torture him.

Flashbacks were swarming his brain when he was interrupted by the loud noise of the TV.

It was so loud, Rei couldn't hear his thoughts anymore but maybe that was better at that moment. Everything was suddenly back to the usual afternoons they had. Vector in front of the TV. Rei trying to do his homework or clean the apartment. He still had a whole day to think about his plan of visiting Yuma and if staying with him for the night would work.

„I'm going out. ", he nearly screamed against the noise of the TV so Vector would hear him. When he got no answer he just quickly threw over his coat and rushed out of the apartment.

It wasn't like he could just ran off of his own and leave everything behind him. Rei didn't know if it was because he was his clone or just Vectors incredible skills of finding people but Vector would always know where he had been.

Finally outside on the street Rei was greeted by a refreshing breeze.

Maybe a walk and some fresh air would calm him down and help him with his stupid panic-plan.

* * *

wooooooo first chapter finished :

I'll upload the next one in the next few days!

-Kura


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Sorry it took so long, i was at convention and couldnt upload :/ hope you enjoy this chapter ^^ chap. 3 is halfway done!

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It was already getting dark when Rei finally got close to his home. He was walking aimlessly around Heartland for about 4 hours and he didn't find a solution for his disastrous situation. Eventually he grabbed something to eat to at least calm his stomach down. He was so deep in his thoughts that he walked into countless people and got nearly hit by a car.

Now he was back in the shitty apartment he called home.

The stairs got harder to climb with each step. When Rei finally stood in front of the door he was struck with fear again. His whole body was shaking and he dropped his key when he tried to unlock the door. Rei bent down to reach for them when suddenly the whole world around him started to turn and his vision went black.

When Rei opened his eyes again and the rest of his senses was coming back, he was greeted with loud talking along some unpleasant loud music.

His head hurt and he had the feeling of vomiting when he heard an all too familiar annoyed voice next to him.

„Stop passing out in front of the door. You're already a nuisance who doesn't do its job right all the other time. ", Vector explained to him in a monotone voice.

Rei blinked in unbelieve. Did Vector carry him inside?

That already sounded simply wrong. Very wrong. And not very Vector.

He slowly sat up, trying not to pass to out again. Everything was still spinning. Was the bit of pasta he ate earlier that old and bad?

„Hey...", he heard Vector talking again. „I don't need a broken clone. So if you want to live longer than pathetic 4 weeks you better get yourself together or I'm doing things myself" There it was. The old i-am-looking-down-on-you-you-are-worthless-in-my-eyes-voice Vector normally had.

„ I am not warning you another time"

Rei felt Vectors eyes on him. He didn't even have to look at him to know what kind of judging stare it was.

Vector was zapping through the programs of the TV without stopping and never being satisfied with any show.

With an annoyed growl he turned the TV off. Awkward silence filled the room. It wasn't like they were normal roommates or something like that and could start a conversation at any about interesting topics.

Rei just stared anywhere in the room, avoiding looking at Vector or even close to where he sat.

Sometimes even a question or a word could trigger the barian and since Rei was the only one around or in Vectors eyes the culprit, he was the one who Vector let his anger out on. It wasn't even rage all the time that made him torment Rei. A couple of times he simply had a bad day or did it because he had fun humiliating Rei. Not like Rei could defend himself nor did he wanted to since that would make everything worse. He had to learn that the hard time and after that he never ever tried anything similar again.

Just simply endure everything Vector did to him.

Oh how he wanted to run away and start a real normal life.

But that was even more impossible than Vectors twisted world destruction and/or domination plans. Vector merely ever explained the necessary details to him. The only times Vector was really talkative and in a good mood was when he was telling the story of how he killed 2 former barian emperors. How he hated their leader and made a list and give points whenever he did something that Vector didn't like and when he had enough points he killed him plus his sister just for the fun of it. Rei knew this story by heart because Vector told it countless times. Not that Rei was really interested but it got Vector in a better mood talking about his glorious kills and any kind of Vector in a positive mood was a good one. Even if it took listening to the same stories over and over again until the time he could recite parts of it and was talking in his head along with it.

The more the two just remained silent, without any other noises, the more awkward it got up to the point when Rei wanted to start talking about something, anything really, to cut this tormenting silence. But as soon as he opened his eyes Vector cut him off.

„When are you leaving to go to Yuma? "

Right he nearly forgot about his terrible probably not working plan to please Vector.

„Uuuuhh well ...tomorrow morning I guess", Rei answered and felt his face getting red and hot. He quickly turned his head in the hope that Vector couldn't see his suspicious behavior.

„You really should...", Vector started to say but was interrupted by the sudden flashing of his barian crystal he wore as a necklace. The other barians were summoning him.

That simple thing always got Vector in a bad mood. He seemed to hate his fellow emperors with a passion. Rei could see how Vectors face slowing got more and grumpier and downright pissed.

He stood up from the couch while cursing up a storm. Some of the profanities Rei didn't even know but he was sure they could only have a very nasty meaning.

Vector opened a portal to meet whoever was summoning him but before he left he turned back to Rei with a cold expression on his face.

„When I come back you better have some information that will put me in a good mood", and without waiting for Rei's answer he left.

The portal closed and it was quiet again.

What now?

He was alone again.

The clock showed it was 10 pm.

Around 12 hours left before he had to go to Yuma. Rei slowly started panicking again. Thoughts of a horrendous future and endless bad possibilities that could occur filled his brain. He fell back on to the couch and covered his eyes with his hands.

A distressed half scream escaped his mouth and he grabbed a blanket next to him and rolled himself up in it. The solely thing that wasn't covered was his face.

He stared at the ceiling as it would tell him the secret that would make all his problems magically disappear. The people in the apartment next to him were fighting again.

Rei pulled the blanked even tighter around himself and before he knew fell into a deep slumber full of nightmares of him getting rejected by Yuma and hurt by Vector.

The rising sun shining through his window woke Rei up from his awful sleep. He untangled himself from the blanket trying not to fall of the couch und glanced at the clock.

It was already half past nine.

Still a bit drowsy he got up and went straight to the kitchen until he remembered the lack of edible food from yesterday.

He sighed deeply.

What an amazing Saturday morning to have.

And it didn't get better when his plans for the day came back in his head. He probably should get as early as he could to Yuma's house before he would make plans with other people. If he hadn't already done that. Rei's mind and body went back into panic mode.

Horrible thoughts screaming through his head. Shaking limbs. Sweat. It was just awful.

Rei slowly made is way to the bathroom, without passing out to his surprise. Maybe a shower would made him feel better. And he didn't wanted to smell or anything like when visiting his friend very soon.

He stripped out of his clothes, in which he slept in, it came to his mind, and stepped into the shower.

Luke warm water was running over his head and down his slim body. He already felt a little better and the nauseas was slowly fading.

Freshly showered with hair and body smelling like his favorite cherry shampoo he grabbed the last clean towel of the shelf and dried himself up.

After about half an hour of just drying his hair and styling it in his usual he looked at himself in the mirror and decided that was good enough to visited someone close and make a good impression.

In a drawer he found some clean clothes to put on and picked a few also to pack into his bag. He packed the other necessities for staying a night at a friend's house and without giving too much thought of what might happen soon he left the apartment and made his way to Yuma's house.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Omg I'm so sorry for the delay but i had a lot of school stuff to do, but in exchange this chapter is a bit longer than the others. Hope you enjoy! (I'll try to write the last one as soon as possible)

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Rain.

Great.

That was the last thing he needed on this horrific weekend, and of course he forgot his umbrella. The way from his place to Yumas wasn't actually that long but with the rain it wasn't the most comfortable journey. When Rei finally arrived at Yuma's house he was drenched. So much for putting all the time into fixing his hair an hour ago. He got to the doorstep and only now did he realized how wet and cold he was. Hopefully he wouldn't catch a cold.

Vector would not be happy.

Great, now his thoughts were back at Vector and his expectations in him.

And how he lied to him.

And how he now stood in front of his friend's house with not really the best intentions, because it was still part of the plan to destroy the unsuspecting boy.

Now the panic was back. Again.

As Rei reached for the doorbell he could see how shaky his hands were. He felt like an old Person.

After he took a deep breath to calm himself down and telling himself that everything would be fine and that he had nothing to fear, he finally pressed the doorbell. Immediately he heard the familiar sound of the bell on the inside.

But that was it.

No shouting from Akari or the voice of Yumas grandma like all the other times when Rei visited.

He pressed the doorbell again. Longer this time, but the only thing that welcomed him was his own anxiety slowly crawling up his neck.

 _He's not here!_

It whispered.

 _He will never love you._

Rei heard it screeching.

 _You failed._

The voice became louder.

 _You're a disappointment!_

And even louder.

 _He's going to hurt you!_

He knew that Vector would be more than furious if he came home with nothing.

 _He will cut your tongue out!_

He was shaking again.

 _He will make you suffer._

His nausea was back and worse than ever.

 _You shouldn't even exist._

His thoughts didn't make sense anymore.

 _YOU ARE NOT EVEN REAL!_

„NO! ", Rei cried, trying to silence his own head.

He was on the verge of collapsing again, when he suddenly heard a voice. A voice that seemed so far away.

„Rei! "

Was that Yuma? It sounded like him. But so far away.

Suddenly someone was shaking Rei.

The fog before his eyes seemed to vanish and his head was abruptly silent and empty. Someone was calling him. He blinked a few times so he could see clearly again.

There was someone still shaking and calling him.

Finally he could make out who that person was.

It was Yuma.

Shaking him. Talking to him even though Rei didn't understand anything.

His friend's eyes were full of worry and on the edge of crying.

„Yuma? ", Rei managed to speak in a faint voice. That little word immediately relieved Yuma a bit. He wrapped his arms around Rei and hugged him closely.

„It's ok", Yuma whispered. „I'm here. "

When Yuma felt Rei's body slowly relax in his embrace he slowly stepped back, but without fully letting go of his friend. Rei took a deep breath. At last his panic attack seemed over and he noticed a concerned Yuma in front of him holding him by his shoulders.

„Yuma...", Rei managed to say, still not knowing completely what just happened.

„Are you ok Rei? ", Yuma asked, still with a worried expression on his face.

„I...I...", Rei stuttered, not sure what to say in the situation.

„How about you come in and then you can tell me everything", Yuma told him and guided Rei into the house. The whole time without letting go of his hand.

He stopped in the living room and turned back to Rei.

„Oh man... you're completely wet...did you walk here in the rain? ", Yuma asked pointing at Rei's soaked clothes.

Rei looked down on himself. The shirt he wore was drenched, together with parts of his pants and his socks were swimming in the water that had gotten into his shoes. It was more than uncomfortable.

He finally felt his voice coming back again.

„Yeah... I...kinda... forgot my umbrella", he mumbled and felt his cheeks burning out of embarrassment.

„...and my jacket too...", Rei added even quieter.

Yuma laughed to Rei's surprise but it immediately put a faint smile on his face.

"Normally I'm the one who forgets his stuff."

He took the backpack out of Rei's hands and guided his friend through the house without stopping to talk. Not that Rei minded. He was always happy when he could hear Yuma's excited voice no matter the topic. The only weird thing to Rei was the absence of Astral. Normally the alien entity was floating next to Yuma and commenting on the things around him. Rei wasn't supposed to see him just like any other human, but that bit of barian energy inside him made it possible to see and hear Astral all the time. Astral not being here relieved him. It sometimes got hard to ignore him and pretend not to be aware of his presence. Gladly today he didn't have to do that and it made him more comfortable to get close to his friend without being watched the whole time.

Yuma led him to his small bathroom upstairs.

"OK, how about you take a hot shower to warm yourself up a bit and I'll try to get us some food."

"Sounds good", Rei answered with a smile.

"Towels are in the top right drawer and you can use my shampoo and stuff." Yuma said and made his way out of the bathroom to leave Rei his privacy.

Before Rei could close the door Yuma suddenly busted in again.

"Give me your clothes!" he demanded.

"W….what?" Rei asked perplexed, blushing a bit by the odd request.

"Well they're wet. I'll put them in the dryer for you…..wait here I'll get you some of my clothes to wear until they're ready."

Rei thought a second about telling Yuma that he actually HAD other clothes with him but he didn't want to pass the opportunity of wearing Yuma's clothes. That might be something that would never ever happen again.

After Yuma left, Rei looked around in the bathroom and stopped when he saw his reflection in the mirror.

Wow. He looked terrible.

His hair messy and wet.

His skin even paler than usual, and his eyes looked like he hadn't slept in days.

Before he could take a second thought about how dead he looked Yuma was back again with a pile of clothes and a warm smile on his face.

"Just put your wet stuff in the basket over there."

He handed Rei his dry clothes over before making his way out of the room again. One last time he turned around.

"Is pizza ok? I'm not the best cook and I know a place that is cheap, good and delivers quickly."

Rei grinned. Yeah he was once a witness of Yuma's cooking and the taste still haunted him sometimes in his dreams.

"Sure, sounds good"

With a last smile at his friend, Yuma closed the door behind him and left.

Rei could hear Yumas footsteps slowly fading outside the room. With the dry clothes in his hands he turned around and was about to undress himself and finally get out of the wet ones he was still wearing, when it hit him.

Yumas clothes…

He was going to wear Yumas clothes.

On his body.

The clothes that had been on Yumas body in the past.

Touching his skin.

Giving him warmth.

Maybe they even still smelled like him?

He could feel the heat coming to his head and when he peeked at himself at the mirror he was as red as his crushes bangs.

Fuck.

Rei dropped the clothes immediately, rushed out of his own, jumped in the shower and let the coldest water that the shower could produce pour over his hot body.

He eventually calmed down and turned the water heat back to a nice warm level. For a while he was just standing there. Letting the water run down his hair and skin. Trying to silence the horrible thoughts that came back again with the water stream.

He couldn't overdo it. That would make probably everything even worse. He would just have a friendly movie night with his friend….crush….enemy?

His only wish was to be together with Yuma but something hold him back. And that something wasn't just the fear of fucking up their friendship entirely.

Was his love even real? He was just a clone after all. A magical clone. Created with the sole purpose of loving somebody. Programmed. Like a computer. Just to serve his master. And to be shut down when he finished his work. Nothing more. Could he even have real feelings? Or was everything predetermined by how Vector had created him? Well no…. Vector probably didn't intend to create a clone with crippling anxiety.

A knock on the door got him back to reality.

"Rei are you ok? It's been 15 minutes?" he heard Yumas concerned voice outside.

Rei quickly turned the water off.

"Uhhhh yeah, just give me a minute", he answered back and stepped out of the shower.

"Take your time….. I didn't wanted to rush you, I just….." Yuma cut himself off.

"Take all the time you need", he repeated.

There was a short awkward silence until he heard Yuma walking away again.

Rei took a towel and dried himself up before glancing at Yuma's clothes again. Before he could even make a straight thought the felt his cheeks getting hot again.

He growled to himself about his impure thoughts involving his best friend und rubbed the towel over his face again and again until he felt a little dizzy.

That was better than any thoughts right now.

He tried not to think too much about it when he put the clothing on. They were….. small…too small.

Rei only had to lift his arms slightly and his stomach showed under the shirt. And the pants were slightly loose around his hips. Great.

His reflection looked rather odd.

His tall slim body in the wrong size clothes, his half wet orange hair that wasn't in his natural shape and a face that looked downright miserable. He tried to smile but it made that picture just look worse. Ok, maybe he should just stop trying to be happy….But then Yuma would ask questions that he wouldn't know how to answer. Oh what was he telling himself. Yuma already knew something was up. The boy wasn't that dumb. Sure he was naïve, trusting, cheery, always there for his friends and even enemies and such but he was certainly not dumb. Especially when it came to the emotions of others. Rei came to the conclusion just to make the best out of this awkward situation and left the bathroom to join his friend.

He found Yuma downstairs on the couch of the living room with a tablet in his hand and quietly talking to himself. As Rei walked up to him and was about to join him when suddenly the doorbell rang.

Yuma immediately jumped from his seat and nearly clashed with Rei. In the last second Rei stopped his friend with a firm grip and prevented hurting the both of them. Irritated Yuma just stared at him, not quite processed what just happened in a span of seconds.

"Ahhhhhhh I'm so sorry" Yuma started to apologize to Rei until the doorbell rang again. For a moment they awkwardly looked at each other again before Rei let go of Yuma, not realizing until this point that probably hurt him with his frim and sudden grip. Yuma rushed to the door. Rei could hear him in the distance talking and laughing with the delivery man. He could really talk to anybody with ease. This genuine friendliness was something that Rei loved so much about him. He sighed and sat down on the couch waiting for other boy.

The more he had to wait the more nervous he got. Nervous about what? This was just a friendly movie night with pizza between friends right? Nothing would happen. But he knew that he wanted something to happen. Badly. Anything would probably satisfy him. Holding hands. Cuddling. He suddenly was reminded of the lecture about drugs in class they had last week and how dangerous they could be. How addicted people could get and what they would do to cleanse their thirst. Was this like being on drugs? Could a human be a drug for someone? It felt like it. And it was agonizing. Especially since Yuma was kind of unapproachable for him. They were friends. The end. He didn't even know if Yuma liked any guys like this. Fuck. His thoughts were getting into dangerous territory again. His face was probably already completely red.

"You didn't catch a cold did you?" Rei was torn from his thoughts by Yumas cold hand unexpectedly on his forehead. The sudden touch didn't make Rei's situation any better. It was still a little accomplishment and made him happy somehow.

"Uhhhh….no…" he whispered. His voice was stuck in his throat.

Yuma still hadn't lift his hand.

"Hmmmm…. You are kind of warm"

His friend's worried but gentle expression let Rei loose his voice completely so he just shook his head to signal he was ok. Which he was certainly not, and also to stop the touching. Even it was just Yumas hand on his forehead.

"My Grandma's always making me tea when I'm starting to get sick…Want me to make you a cup?" Yuma slightly tilted his head and smiled at his guest.

This smile was like a knife to his heart. So warm. So beaming. So wonderful. He wish he could just take a picture and just look at it all day, every day.

Rei finally found his voice again and the courage to take Yumas hand and remove it from his head. Even though he wished Yuma would not stop touching him.

"I'm fine Yuma", he lied and forced a smile.

"Really? You know you can tell me"

"Really." Rei answered and locked his eyes with Yumas.

Just a few seconds of staring at each other they noticed that they were in fact holding hands since Rei took his.

Immediately they let go and Yuma rushed away again. He quickly returned with a carton of hot pizza and put it down on the coffee table in front of Rei.

"Help yourself" he said and took a piece himself.

Just the smell itself reminded Rei how little he had eaten the last few days and that little was garbage most of the time.

He took a piece himself and for a while they just sat there in silence, eating.

Should he start a conversation? Or not? Would that be awkward? Well it couldn't get more awkward that the silence between them right now. Sometimes he wished Vector would have blessed him with a bit more self-confidence and a lot less anxiety and shyness.

He only realized how long they were not talking until he saw that the pizza box was already empty.

Great. What now?

To his luck Yuma took the initiative and at last broke the silence.

"Soooooooo wanna watch a movie?"

A movie. Good. Maybe then everything would be less awkward. No talking was good. On the other hand without talking he wouldn't get close to Yuma. Or could he? Did he wanted to? Well of course he wanted to but there was still the little detail about Vectors wish to destroy Yuma with his help. The old thoughts about his horrendous dilemma were coming back.

"Rei?"

Please your Master and betray the love of your life? Save him and get punished and possibly killed in a very hurtful way? Get close to him and be happy for a short time? Leave their relationship as it was and save they boy at least a little bit of pain?

Some many questions went through his head and he had not one answer to any of them. He wanted to cry. Cry and run away. From everything. All the good. All the bad. But that wasn't an option. It never was and it never would be. His path was determined. Set in stone by a full of rage alien emperor who wanted to destroy the world and probably more.

"REI!"

Yuma screaming his name and shaking him snapped Rei out of his delirious state.

Slowly he turned his head to meet Yumas once again worried look. Just now he realized that a few lonely tears were running down his cheeks and that he just couldn't hold up this façade anymore. Without a warning Rei bursted into tears and just cried. His whole body was shaking and the world around him started ceasing to exist. There was just his inner pain that wouldn't go away. It never would until his death.

He barely noticed Yuma hugging him tightly, and gently stroke his back. He didn't even hear Yumas words. The void in his head was just too loud. Rei only stopped crying when his tears were completely dried up and his head was completely empty. It felt like time stopped around him. Yuma was still holding him. Talking to him with a calming voice. Nice words. Encouraging words. With shaking hands, Rei put his hands around Yuma to return the hug and placed his now heavy feeling head on his shoulders.

He breathed in Yumas scent and started to relax. His breathing stopped being too rapid and the shaking slowly faded. He wished to let this moment last forever. Just the two of them.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

"Do you want to talk?" he heard Yuma quietly asking him.

Oh how he wanted to tell him everything. Who he really was. Who Vector was. And what would happen in the future, but he couldn't.

"I….. I can't …I'm so sorry Yuma", he told his friend with a cracked voice. He felt his body tensing up and his eyes getting watery again. Not another meltdown.

"It's ok" Yuma calmly said. "You don't have to. And you don't have to be sorry. Whatever it is I'm here for you. I'll protect you Rei!"

Protect him?

Him?

"Really?" It was just a whisper but Yuma still heard him.

"Of course! We are friends! That's what friends do. They are here for each other. They care for each other"

"You mean it?" Rei heard himself accidently asking. Wow. He sounded like a little pathetic school girl who was hopelessly in love. Well the last part was actually true but still.

Yuma chuckled.

"Promise! Whenever you are in trouble you can come to me and together we can make things right again."

This sounded like a dream to Rei. A dream he didn't wanted to wake up from. This just sounded way too good. Like a utopia.

After what felt like a blissful eternity the both boys let go of each other, much to Reis disappointment but he still managed to finally smile at his friend again. Yumas face automatically beamed at this.

Rei had to giggle at his adorable reaction. They both started laughing and for a moment the world seemed beautiful. Just the two of them and their happy genuine laughter. The awkwardness and fear of the day was completely gone and Reis mind didn't have a single bad thought in it for the first time in what seemed forever. He felt like a normal human being that went to school, had friends and could enjoy its life.

They quickly decided on the movie and one became two and at around 2 am in the morning they lost count on their movies. The last one was a pretty old drama film. Perfect for being tired and just letting the words and pictures pass by. Rei didn't even remember the story, characters or anything of the movie currently on. His eyes were suddenly so heavy and his mind already half asleep. He glanced over at Yuma but the boy was in deep slumber. Still sitting what looked a little uncomfortable but Rei couldn't get it over his heart to wake him up. Silently watching his friend peacefully sleep he didn't even realize when he himself finally fell asleep.

The first thing Rei noticed when he slowly woke up was the pain in his neck and back. It took him a while to realize why that was. He fell asleep still sitting on the couch and his head was uncomfortably crooked to one side. Despite the pain he didn't move out of fear it would hurt even more. Suddenly he heard quiet breathing very close to his hear. Then it hit him. His head wasn't just crooked to the side. It was resting on Yumas shoulder. Did they sleep like that all night? Rei was all of a sudden excited. This is what he wanted. This peaceful togetherness.

Without moving too much so he wouldn't wake up his friend, Rei shifted in a less unpleasant posture that would ease the neck pain at least a bit. He just couldn't stop smiling. It probably looked really dumb but he didn't care right now. This was amazing. Looking down he saw Yumas hands right next to his. They were open and it looked like an invitation for Rei to take and hold his hand. But what if that woke him up? How should he explain the hand holding? It happening while they were sleeping sounded like a very unbelievable story. But he wanted it so bad. Just for a short time. That would be ok, right?

He lifted his hand and at first just let his fingers brush lightly over Yumas tanned skin. From the corner of his eye he closely watched Yuma and his reaction to his touch. Nothing. He was still sleeping, not inching a bit away. From second to second Rei grew more courageous and ended up intertwining his fingers with Yumas like they were laces. That felt nice. He closed his eyes again and just enjoyed the situation. The touching hands. His head on Yumas shoulders. Yumas frequent quiet breathing. He wished this moment to last forever.

To his shock he suddenly heard someone trying to unlock the door and within seconds Yumas sister and his grandma were in the house loudly talking to each other. He quickly pulled his hand back and slid a few inches away from his friend so they weren't touching.

"YUMA!" Akari screamed through the house but her brother didn't flinch and kept sleeping.

"YUMA!" She screamed, louder this time and already on her way to the living room.

Rei tried to shake his friend gently but firm but got no reaction. This boy was in an impressive deep slumber. It shouldn't be a surprise to Rei, since he knew how often Yuma was late to school because he overslept every alarm of his clock.

Before he could try to wake up Yuma a bit more aggressively, Akarai was already in the room and spotted them immediately. She didn't even take note of Rei, or didn't want to, she went straight around the couch and pulled on her brother's ear. Within an instant Yuma sat up with a surprised scream and tried to find the source, still a little disoriented from sleeping.

"Go get Grandmas luggage out of the car!" she commanded. Akari nodded to Rei to greet him and vanished into her office to work.

Yuma groaned in annoyance from the sudden rude awakening and rubbed his eyes. He mumbled something that Rei couldn't quite make out but he guessed he was cursing at his sister. He looked over at Rei and smiled apologetic.

"Sorry, I'll be right back" Yuma said and went outside to help his grandma. Rei just sat awkwardly on the couch, not really sure what to do. Should he help Yuma? Clean the table? Just keep sitting? Before he could decide on anything Yuma was already back and started cleaning up. Rei made a move to help him but Yuma just grabbed his hand to stop him.

"You're my guest. I'll clean this up real quick and I'll be right back with you" Rei nodded and watched Yuma tidying up the little bit of mess they made.

From the kitchen he could already hear Yumas grandma working and probably cooking something amazing. He didn't eat often at Yumas home but the few times he could taste his grandmas food it was amazing. That woman was incredible talented when I came to the art of culinary skills.

Yuma returned shortly and let himself fall back onto the couch when he was done.

"Man, you're lucky to be an only child" he said pouting.

Only child?

Well that was kind of true, but in exchange he had a terrible roommate who didn't do shit and treated him not the best most of the time. Instead of an answer he just smiled awkwardly.

"Do you want to stay for lunch? My grandma is already cooking." Yuma asked him.

Yes! Please!

"Uhm…. I don't want to bother you any longer"

"What? You're not bothering anybody! It's fine. Really!"

"You sure?"

Yuma nodded encouraging. He stood up and pulled Rei to his feet by his hands.

"Your clothes should be dry again. Then you don't have to wear my old rugs anymore" Yuma giggled and led his friend to the laundry room. Rei would love to wear these clothes 24/7 but how the hell could he tell something like that to his friend. That would probably come over as very creepy. Because it WAS very creepy. Yuma handed him his now dry and fresh smelling clothes and left him alone to change and get himself some new clothes.

Maybe he could smuggle Yumas old clothes somehow with him home. Yuma wouldn't notice, right? Or miss them. He stripped out of his friends clothes and instantly felt cold. Even when he was wearing his old attire again the cold didn't leave. He wanted to Yumas warmth and closeness back. These clothes had to come home with him! They had to! It wouldn't be the greatest comfort but it was at least something. He would sneak the out somehow. Vector was a master at being sneaky, so why couldn't he be? Yumas sudden knock on the door teared him out of his thoughts.

"Are you done?" he heart Yumas muffled voice outside.

"Yeah, just give me a sec….Uhm could you get me my backpack? I need my…..toothbrush?" Yes. Finally a plan that could actually work. Just put Yumas clothes in there and take them home. Perfect!

"Sure thing!"

It only took a minute when he heard a knock on the door again.

Rei opened the door and took his bag out of Yumas hands. He smiled as a thank you and locked himself in the bathroom again. Quickly he put the clothes in his bag and closed it fast. Satisfied with the execution of his plan he brushed his teeth, washed his face and with a last look at his bag, making sure the clothes weren't poking out he left the bath.

He met with Yuma downstairs and to his luck he either forgot to ask Rei about his clothes or he didn't care. Rei couldn't believe this was actually working, but now he had to leave. Otherwise he feared that Yuma would eventually ask about the clothes and he couldn't risk it. Leaving as unsuspicious as possible was the last thing on his agenda right now. Then he would be safe.

Yuma was talking without a pause like usual about something that Rei didn't really concentrate on.

"Yuma?" No pause.

"Yuma?" he said, a bit more firmly this time.

Still no reaction. It amazed him every time again how much Yuma could talk without a break. Not that he minded. He loved listening to everything he had to say despite if the topic was interesting to him or not.

"Yuma!" he grabbed his friend's wrist so he could finally get Yumas attention. Yuma stopped in his talking and look questioningly at Rei.

"I think I'm gonna leave now"

Yumas face automatically looked sad. It broke Rei's heart to see him like this.

"But why? I told you its ok and that you can stay for dinner and grandma…."

"I'm sorry, but I have a few important things to do" Rei lied and felt terrible for doing so. Yuma thought for a moment but then nodded understandable.

"If you say so, then I don't want to hold you back any longer. I'll bring you to the door"

The two boys walked past the kitchen and Rei already regretted not staying for lunch. Whatever Yumas grandma was cooking smelled like heaven. But he already made up his mind. They both stepped outside on the doorstep. Yuma hugged him tightly and waved until Rei went around the corner and he couldn't see his friend anymore.

The happy memories of their short time together faded with every step he got closer to his own home. Back into that shitty apartment. Back into that cold place he had to call his home.

And of course, back to Vector.


End file.
